Rising Splendor
Rising Splendor From miles in the distance had he spotted it; from years yonder had he smelt it; and instinctively was he seduced by its brilliant, sadistic appeal. The one fabled as Silvius Alvar could hardly contain his joy at the sight of a village flustered with ice. Naturally, even without an inspection of the proximity, he dove head first into the feast; his tongue traversing the cold wonders of a frozen well, his fangs shedding into sleet like butter, his hands groping the rich plunders of snow situated about the ground. He was in heaven, and though he felt a magical energy radiating from the village, he opted instead to continue with his endeavors, emptying balls of snow into his mouth, one handful after the other. "I would prefer you not eat my beautiful signature, boy.", a woman with a commanding, yet sultry voice spoke from seemingly nowhere...and everywhere. "I enjoy watching the reactions of those who come across my work, so please, do not eat it.", she said again. If Silvius looked around, he could see blood splatters that get bigger and bigger towards the centre of the village, as well as the dismembered limbs of bodies that have been frozen solid and placed around the entire village like decorations. Yet still was Silvius persistent in consuming his meal. When he came to it, the red snow tasted along the lines of the yellow snow he had encountered moments prior; it was flavorful, filled with discreet taste. He waved off the ominous warning, and rather than respecting its wishes, only began to devour the frozen lands at a much quicker pace. In most cases, this would have resulted in a brain-freeze; though he showed no clear signs of ever slowing down, and if he were not stopped sooner than later, than the village would have been reverted to its previous state, leaving only the severed limbs within its wake. Since the man refused to stop, the source of the voice made her move. Dozens of swords impaled the ground around Silvius, getting dangerously close to his body. One sword missed his head by half an inch. The swords had formed a cage around the Dragon Slayer. A howling blizzard formed in the village's centre, from which a woman with long blue hair that reached past her waist emerged. Her footsteps crunched in the flawless, fresh bed of snow on the ground. She didn't even look bothered by the temperature, considering that she was wearing a casual military shirt and mini skirt with boots. "I warned you to stop, and yet you ignore me. Pathetic little man.", she snapped at him as her long hair flowed gracefully to her left in the wind. Silvius did not so much flinch from the reaction of the swords coming ever so close to his mane. He stood to his feet to greet the woman, drips of water trickling down from his mouth like a water fountain as he did. However, what he saw, he was surely not prepared for; she must have been an angel, to have brought so much snow with her all at once. He wandered aimlessly toward her direction, his mouth kept open at all times, leading the blizzard through a fixed path down his throat until there was nothing left of it. Silvius came upon her within mere moments, standing before her with his body laminated by a sly green blanket. His cold, hardened gaze fell upon her inches from her own nose, as if he were prying into her soul, so as to determine whether or not she were truly to be considered an otherworldly being. His eyes darted lower thereafter, pausing in certain areas where her flesh was more prominent. He then looked back up to her, into her eyes. Without saying another word, he dared her to repeat herself; dared her to once more disturb his feast. "Eyes up, or you lose them.", she said as she stepped back from him once, with a bit of a grimace on her face. "Who are you, and why do you behave like a slow-minded invidual? It's really not a nice sight for a grown man.", the woman said to the Dragon Slayer before her. "I can't help it," he said in a chilled whisper, retracing the step she had taken backward, sealing the small fraction of space that she had created between the two of them. With a sluggish maneuver, he made to mantle his arms around her fragile waist and pull her body closer to his own, in the form of a sly embrace. "Your hair, skin, power... it's all very much like my own." In one simple manouvere, she had him on the ground and beneath her boot. Her eyes were shadowey as she glared viciously at him. "Let's get one thing straight. Your power comes nowhere near mine.", she hissed venomously, before lifting her boot from him. She moved to face away from him, and with a flick of a hand, a beautifully and intricately designed throne made entirely of shimmering ice formed out of thin air. "I asked you a question. I expect an answer, ''immediately'.", she snapped after a moment of silence. Silvius quite enjoyed having his face buried in snow. He merely licked the flakes off of his face as he stood to his face, eyeing the woman who sat upon her newly constructed throne. Though she had failed to take notice of it, in truth, his body had been lined by a green aura; it was a spell cast in secret, the one he referred to as "Regalia"; what it did was extremely beneficial for him, though very much the opposite for his opponent. While most Sky Dragon Slayer spells raised combat attributes, this one just so happened to ''lower them instead. Eleanor's defenses had been transformed into something on par with paper sheets; her reflexes had been degraded to a horrific level, being slower than a tortoise; and most of all, she would have been essentially powerless, being unable to weave spells that would have had the slightest chance to harm him now --especially after all the snow he had eaten in comparison to her. While his own attributes had been enhanced by the aid of her creations --through the process of consumption-- her own had been drastically sedated. "You're right, my power is nowhere near your own," he chuckled, approaching the woman. It would have been increasingly difficult for her to move her body, given her current condition. Even his words would have taken what would have felt like hours to arrive into her world, due to her rate of perception having also been slown down significantly. "A woman with a nasty temper. No thanks, I've already plenty of those. Still yet, you will be coming with me, Titan of Othrys. Come now without hesitation, and I shall see to it that you are dealt without consequence. Though I imagine you comprehend the given circumstance; you no longer have any other option." Eleanor simply laughed, obviously highly amused. The laughter then stopped abruptly, and it was like the air itself went still. Her hair began flowing wildly as her body shimmered. A metallic armour appeared over her body, with wings made out of frozen swords. She slid her already-present sword from its sheath, and threw it into the air. Her eyes became bright green, and her sword disappeared. And all of a sudden, dozens, maybe hundreds of swords were being launched endlessly at Silvius from all angles. Due to the happenings of Silvius' previous spell, Eleanor's power had been severely decreased; on the other hand, due to the feast he had helped himself to earlier, Silvius' power had greatly increased. Upon attacking him now for the third time, rather foolishly at that, was not the brightest of ideas that the ice maiden may have conceived. At this point, Silvius was merely able to stand his ground and ultimately counter the incoming attack with very little effort; upon exerting his magical aura, he froze the swords in place before they could have even hoped to touch him, and caused them to shatter within the next instant. With her rate of perception diminished, and his own speed taken to unprecedented levels, Silvius sought to end this battle swiftly --something he had now become quite heralded for. With one quick movement, he blurred out of sight and out of mind; he then reappeared, seeking to establish connection with any portion of Eleanor's body, so as to knock her out. All that was necessary was really a touch at this point, given how greatly her defenses had been effected and how great Silvius' offense had been augmented. Eleanor's gaze followed Silvius, almost, as she attempted to predict where his attack would come from. However, the attack still landed, and it seemed to paralyse her due to the debuffs placed up Eleanor. She glared at the Slayer from where she was. "'''Bastard. What is it you even need?", she spoke venomously to the man. Having defeated his opponent, he saw no reason in taking her in; it would have defeated the purpose of his hunt, and more importantly, taken away all the fun that came along with it. "I need children such as yourself removed from the face of this planet. Those of you whom hurt others for the sake of your own 'precious' dilly-dallying... you dark mages and the like. I've spared your under the condition that you are not worthy enough to die by my hand. Now return to Othrys and give my greetings to your master." With his hands in his pockets, Silvius wandered off into the cold abyss. Fin